Co-op board conflicts increase in troubled market

The unpredictable real estate market has increased conflicts on co-op boards, many of which recently held their annual meetings, the New York Times reported. Steven Sladkus, a lawyer who represents co-op and condo boards, said that the co-op board meeting in an East Side building he represents recently devolved into a screaming match. Sladkus said he helped to stop a similar conflict in his own Upper East Side co-op, where he is president, earlier this year. The disagreements are often due to owners’ worries about rising costs or the appearance that building projects are stalled.